Improvement in hoof-moistener holders



G'. P. MERRIAM. I-I00f Moisten-er Holder.

Patented June 18 1878.

MPETERS, Pnmmumoempnan. WASHINGTON. D c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE P. MERRIAM, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, SAMUEL (3. WHITE, AND CHARLES R. VALPEY, OF SAME PLA, E.

IMPROVEMENT IN HOOF-MOISTENER HOLDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 205,118, dated June 18, 1878; application filed May 10, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE P. MERRIAM, of Lynn, of the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful device for holding a wet sponge or its equivalent in the hoof of a horse, and against the sole or frog thereof, such device being termed by me a Hoof-Moistener Holder and do hereby declare the same to be described in the following specification, and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a bottom view, Fig. 2 a side view, and Fig. 3 a longitudinal section, of it. Figs. 4 and 5 are representations of it as applied to the shoe and hoof of a horse,-and to a sponge arranged against the frog or sole of such hoof.

In such drawings, 0 denotes an elastic open frame, composed of wire bent in the form sh own, and provided at its toe and heel with eyes a b b, for receiving and supporting a furcated sheet, 0, of rawhide or other suitable material, which, after passing through the eyes, is lapped at its ends, and secured in place by rivets d d d going through it and the laps. The frame is turned or bent upward at its heel, in manner as shown, and on its flanks it is formed with shoulders e e, such shoulders being to rest against the outer bars of the frog of the hoof, and thereby prevent the sponge-holder from being accidentally forced backward when in place between the hoof B and the shoe A, and having the sheet of rawhide extending across the piece of sponge D, intervening between it and the sole of the hoof.

After the wet sponge or moistening-pad may have been placed against the frog or sole of the hoof, the holder is to be sprung into the space between such sole and the upper surface of the shoe, in which case the heel portion of the holder will project upward so as to keep the sponge or pad against the back or heel of the frog.

I have found that a holder of the kind described will retain its position between the while the horse may be traveling, as well as while he may be stalled.

By the heel of the holder being bent upward the holder is prevented from being driven forward so as to become wedged between the toes of the shoe and the hoof. Thus it will be seen that the heel bend and the shoulders and the shoe preserve the holder in its normal position when it is in use, as stated.

A spring-clip to expand into the space between the hoof and. shoe of a horse, and bent inward at its ends, is not new for holding a cloth, bag, or pad in place on the sole of a horses foot, such having been in use before my invention. So a band provided with network loops and straps is an old device for the purpose. So an elastic tube provided with a wire extending through it lengthwise, and projecting from it so as to form catches or fastenings, is old, or was invented prior to the date of my improvement or holder, which differs therefrom in being composed of a fleziible sheet and an elastic frame, made and combined as described. Therefore,

1 claim 1. A hoof-moistener holder, substantially as described, consisting of the flexible sheet 0 and the elastic frame 0, arranged and applied essentially as specified.

2. The elastic frame (3, as provided with the shoulders arranged on its flanks, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The elastic frame 0, bent up at its heel,

and provided with the shoulders, all being substantially as set forth.

GEORGE P. MERRIAM.

Witnesses R. H. EDDY, S. N. PIPER. 

